Pharmacies forced to halt services as pressures continue

Community pharmacies are being forced to stop offering some NHS and public health services as financial and operational pressures on them intensify, polling by Community Pharmacy England has revealed.

In our poll of pharmacy owners conducted ahead of the June Committee Meeting, 96% of respondents (weighted) said they had stopped delivering locally commissioned services over the past twelve months. Additionally, nearly one third of pharmacies represented in the poll said they had to stop provision of some Advanced services.

The poll results also show that pharmacy opening hours are being cut, with 81% of pharmacies reporting that they had to stop offering extended opening hours. In 90% of pharmacies, owners have also had to stop employing locum pharmacists – likely on cost grounds. And more than 20% said they had had to put an end to the free delivery of prescription medicines to patients.

Just days after GP practices began limiting appointments, we shared these results of our opinion polling representing more than 2,100 pharmacies with national media contacts, and coverage was published this morning:

Pharmacies in England cutting services amid financial pressures, research finds | The Guardian

Click here to read our comment issued to the national media

Community Pharmacy England CEO Janet Morrison said:

“With GP work-to-rule action now underway, many people are turning to their local pharmacies for help, as happened in the pandemic. But with pharmacies already under considerable strain, any additional workload will only exacerbate the situation.

We will continue to fight for fair funding for community pharmacies across England, using a range of tactics including political and public influencing. Working to secure national media coverage is just one part of our plans to raise awareness of the immense pressures on pharmacies and the difficult decisions they are being forced to make.”